Magnum
by Cr1mson5
Summary: Strange, that I should understand why I am in this position. The reminiscences of a Skitter about to die


**If I suddenly become the owner of anything, I'll let you know.**

**Rating: PG-13/T for my usual stuff**

You call these weapons "guns". Your model is a Smith and Wesson, I believe, an M1911. And it is currently pointing at my breathing cavity, preparing to be fired into the nerve bundle at the roof of my mouth and kill me. I know you humans are aware of this weakness, much as we are aware of many of yours, and I see that you will fire wherever you deem necessary in order to end my life.

I believe you've dubbed such a strike a "headshot".

Strange, that I should understand why I am in this position. I mean, if the situation were reversed and _you_ were invading _my_ planet, I would certainly not hesitate to cut down as many of your soldiers as possible. You are reckless, furious, but determined. You fight for all you believe in, all you ever held dear, and you fight for your freedom. But most of all, you fight for your family. You have no reason to be standing here other than the fact that you think you are doing the right thing. In reality, you are fighting against your species by opposing us, but of course we never expected anything to run smoothly. We foresaw this, which is why we hunt you down now.

I must admit that I have long been fascinated by humanity. You are such exquisite forms of life, so delicate and so intricately structured, and I am quite interested in your development. As we arrived here, we attempted to first be diplomatic with your leaders, but we were distrusted. Our High Commander sensed such feelings among your numbers, and she presented to the Council the idea that the only way to accomplish our goals was to take the offensive before you did. Although your weapons could not harm our ships, she was concerned that extended amounts of time allowed you during which your distrust could grow and you could study our defenses in better detail would result in your creation of a weapon capable of destroying our shuttles and weapons. Humans are, after all, so very intelligent. The Council voted in favor of the High Commander's plan, and it was executed almost immediately. I assure you that I did not revel in causing such panic and distress. You were all so very frightened, but then you grew bold. You began to fight back, you began to _resist_, and the High Commander ordered all Resistance factions to be crushed underfoot. It was the only way, she told us.

So, we began our battle against you. We have the advantage, by all accounts, because of our extensive strategizing. Beforehand, we catalogued every man, woman, and child on your planet and memorized the numbers of your population as they increased and decreased. We worked through the statistics of the numbers of the total amount who would be able to participate in such a movement as you are a part of and quickly set about reducing the number. Most importantly of all, though, we sped up production of clones by more than twenty percent to increase the size of our armies and combat your forces. I myself am a clone, an earlier generation, and I must say that these newcomers, though skilled beyond belief due to intensive programming procedures, are far too eager to decimate your species. They do not understand the true purpose of this small war we wage now.

You see, we do not intend to wipe out your race. No, to the contrary, we intend to make you thrive and turn you into the great people you can be someday. Many of you, unfortunately, will not survive, but it is better than leaving you to your fate otherwise. You cannot see it, had no means to see it, but a war is coming to your solar system. We are here to delay your demise at the hands of our enemies. They mean to exterminate you, because they do not see your potential. They think you weak, overestimated…useless.

If they could see you now, they would run in fear.

We will fight them off when they come to Earth. Their course cannot be altered, nor can it be stopped, unless a certain plan of action is put to use. After centuries of conflicting with them at every turn, we have finally devised such a plan that will stop them forever. Many of you will be safe, far safer than you could ever be, for you will be long gone to the afterlife where none can harm you again.

Your species will survive through us. We are, as I have said, so very intrigued by you, and we wish to study you more, see your developments with our own eyes. So, we have adopted the cream of your crop, the ones who will allow us the study we so fervently seek: your children.

You fancy our inhibitor matrixes—"harnesses", as you call them—to be dangerous to your young, things that tear them away from you. And perhaps they are all you perceive them to be. To us, they are the salvation of your race. Inhibitor matrixes feed your children a mixture of nutrients, liquids, and a specially-blended neurotoxin designed to affect certain processes in their brains—specifically, thought, emotion, and memory. We do not entirely erase the possibility of choice; rather, we provide them with the illusion of choice. They believe that their actions are purely their own, where, in reality, we are acting for them. It is no matter. We have taken them…not indiscriminately, for the youngest ones would be in danger from the inhibitor matrixes but would be too difficult to control without them. Really, the neurotoxin works best on a more fully-developed brain, such as those of your "teenagers" and "young adults". They are the ones we want, and they will lead to better days for your race.

Under us, they live well and flourish. We purge all impurities, illnesses, and other hindrances from their systems upon arrival at a mother base, and they dwell in groups like families. I govern a group of ten, and these children are like my own. I love them in a way I never thought myself capable of.

Under us, they will be gently guided and taught what they must know in order to survive. We will nurture them and all humanity in return and turn them into a great people. Perhaps they may never truly think for themselves again, but we will slowly wind down the dosage of neurotoxin with time, releasing them to become their own people when they are ready.

We will have an impressive crop from these chosen ones we have gathered. They will be the mothers and fathers of a golden era of humanity. Three female specimens in this area alone are already pregnant, being nursed in maternity pods as we stand here confronting one another, and they will give birth in another six short months. Their offspring will be fed our neurotoxin in small, safe dosages through their umbilical cords, and the inhibitor matrixes will only go on all the more easily because of it when they're older. Under us, humanity will prosper; we will see to it.

Perhaps our method of protection is somewhat perverse, and your hatred for us will no doubt only grow when you see our true reasons for coming to your planet. Your motives, though, here and now, are clear to me. You, one little human soldier, one frail man, intend to slaughter our sentinels by the thousands if you must in order to "free" your people.

Go ahead and kill me if you must. You will never kill us all. We outnumber you vastly, and even if you lose, know that you will still win.

Your people are not in danger from us. We are only helping you.

**~The End~**


End file.
